There's no shortage of calling-card info on the Web, but my concern is
placing a call without going through a lengthy interaction sequence.
I can't find any info on this.

I typically use cards from payphones when away from my local calling
area ... no, I don't have a cellphone with a national calling plan :-(
I used to use the cards I got from BJ's. They recently switched to
MCI as a provider. MCI has a non-bypassable message that goes
something like, "A charge of 30 cents will be deducted from your card
in addition to regular charges each time you place a call from a
payphone." Going through this message, plus the language prompt,
doubles the time it takes to place a call! This gets very annoying
when I have several calls to make.

Does anyone know (a) of a card with a competitive price that does not
have extra messages or prompts, beyond the access code and the phone
number, or (b) a place where I can obtain such information?

-Ed Gehringer
(who posted to this group a lot 10 years ago, but not in the last few
years)

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Welcome back, Ed! Nice to see you
around again; don't be such a stranger in the future! PAT]